


Breath of the Wild: The Final Memory

by lavendermemory



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Heartbreak, M/M, Minor Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Multi, Sexual Tension, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-21 04:52:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11350245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavendermemory/pseuds/lavendermemory
Summary: A re-imagined telling of Breath of the Wild's story, with a bit more in depth character development. Also Ganondorf is there with an actual purpose.





	Breath of the Wild: The Final Memory

The sun was just about to set, the sky painted in splashes of oranges and crimson until fading into a dark blue horizon. The wind was heavy, heated and dry on an unsettling level, but now that the day was coming to it’s end, the temperature was becoming a bit more bearable. Though ever so slowly. Transitioning from the lush and cool Faron Grasslands into the sliding and rolling sand dunes of Gerudo took a toll on tourists, so it was quite rare to see anyone visiting the desert of their own free will, aside from merchants here and there. The heat during the day was unrelenting, and the nights became as cold as a tundra once the sun was out of sight.  


Though that hadn’t kept this certain Hylian away as his gloved hands stayed firm on the lead straps to his horse, hoping to reach the Gerudo Town before the night made it too frigid to keep trekking on. The muffled clopping of the horse running through the sand was the only sound the traveler could hear, aside from the winds that were starting to die down, sandstorms settling as the moon began rising. He was not alone, but joined by another rider close behind him -- Princess Zelda herself on her trusted noble steed, kicking up sand nearly as fast as the other.

“We aren’t far off now,” she spoke as she pointed off towards the hazy sunset in the distance, her horse catching up to the other’s speed, “At this rate we should reach the town in minutes!”

The cloaked Hylian accompanying her looked into the direction she had gestured to, and sure enough there were small dots of lights that indicated their destination. He gave a short nod, though it couldn’t have been really noticed at the speed they were traveling at. With a gruff ‘hyah!’ they both managed to pick up some more speed and leave nothing but a trail of dust behind them. 

 

It was a strict law that Gerudo Town was only accessible to vai -- females. Though in the case of the Princess Zelda, her royal guard was the one male who was able to cross the walls and enter the desert city. Actually, he was able to come with her no matter where they were at all; the King of Hyrule himself made it clear that Princess Zelda was not to be left unattended, especially outside castle walls. Though he was such a young man, short in stature and silent as the Lord of the Mountain, the Hylian had fought through the ranks of the other potential knights and proved himself to be worthy of protecting the King’s only daughter.

As they situated their horses at the stable for a temporary rest, the princess walked with a serious and unwavering expression up the stairs to the royal Gerudo corridor. Her knight followed, only looking ahead without a word of question as they entered a large room. Proudly, the Gerudo leader looked up at the two with eyes that sparkled like emeralds, her lips painted elegantly with cerulean color. She gave them a warm, knowing smile as she rose from her throne, approaching them with an aristocratic stride. 

“It’s good to see you, Urbosa,” Zelda said with a short nod, facing the other. She seemed very firm, her gloved hands clasped at her sides as she stood in the center of the room. 

“Glad to see you both made it. I hope the sands were sympathetic,” her voice was strong, with a tone that was smooth as honey. Her gaze wandered past the stiffly posed princess and over to the kneeling boy behind her. “That’s the boy from the ceremony, yes? Link, right?” 

Princess Zelda looked back, glancing at him for only a mere second before turning back to Urbosa. She frowned a bit, letting out an exasperated sigh. “Yes, but nevermind him. I would have come myself but father insisted that he accompanied me.” 

Urbosa only smirked at that, her hand resting on her sculptured hip as she watched the princess get so huffy about the whole thing.

“Well, I would do the same if you were my only daughter. In all honesty, the King only takes such drastic measures because you are so precious to him,” she spoke quietly before she crossed her arms in front of herself, “Now, you wanted to speak to me about the Divine Beast?” 

The princess nodded, walking towards Urbosa when she waved for her to follow. For a moment, Link rose to his feet again, about to go with them, but quickly Zelda turned around. “No, no. You stay here. We’ll be back in a moment.” She pointed to the door, giving him a stern look before going along with Urbosa upstairs. For a moment, Link could only blink in slight confusion, but he did as he was told, walking back to the entrance and standing a little tense manner. 

It had been weeks since he had become Princess Zelda’s guard, and not once had she seemed to be happy about it. He knew she was a strong young lady, smarter than nearly anyone he’d ever met, but she would always give him the cold shoulder for some reason. Was he going to hold a grudge about it? Well, no. Maybe she was shy, or just dealing with something that was none of his business. Regardless, Link thought, it was his duty to keep her safe. That was all he had ever trained for; the years he had spent in unforgiving weather, working with others that hated him for some incomprehensible reason. Hours spent trekking from his home in Hateno Village to Hyrule Castle to attend lessons he had no choice but to go through with. Years spent perfecting every sword technique until blisters on his hands had become bloody scars, years wearing bruises from sparring with fellow trainees, years learning that there is no room for mistakes in battle. 

Whatever the princess thought of him was insignificant; his very reason for existing was to make sure she was always out of harm’s way, whether she wanted him there or not. He had no choice but to accept things as they were. 

His deep thoughts were interrupted when suddenly a line of Gerudo guards went running across the town, carrying their spears and lanterns in a wild chase. The amount of shouting and running was causing other Gerudo and travelers to peer out their doors and windows to see what was causing the commotion. 

“A voe crossed into the city walls!” 

Link frowned, for a moment he thought they were speaking about him and he didn’t want to cause any trouble. But sure enough, the handful of Gerudo sprinted off after a bulky cloaked figure that he could spot from the distance he was watching from. His hand instinctively resting on the hilt of his sword for a moment; even though the guards were out of sight after running to the alleys of town, he still had the urge to join them and see what was wrong. Perhaps he could help… 

“You stay here.” 

The Princess’ cold tone kept echoing in his mind. That had been an order. But if he went to assist the guards, that could also be in the favor of the safety of the princess. Surely that made sense. With a quick look behind him and not spotting the Princess Zelda or Urbosa, Link then went down the stairs as fast as he could, running in the direction he saw the Gerudo patrol go. For some reason, he felt his heart racing in his chest, the excitement of a possible fight sending a slight smile to form on his face. It was probably nothing but a mere Yiga clan member causing trouble. It didn’t matter to him. The fact that he spent days just walking the castle with the princess, doing nothing but staying alert, sometimes became unbearingly monotonous. He loved the spontaneous fights, the adrenaline from using the skills he had trained so long to learn. 

With a skidding movement on the sandy path, Link turned a corner and saw them immediately. 

“You have nowhere to run!” The Gerudo guards were encircling the dark figure, their weapons pointed at the ready. “Drop your swords, and put your hands to the heavens!” 

Link stared at the whole situation, looking around to notice that the wall they had cornered this sneak at had ridges he was sure to use to climb and escape. His eyes narrowed, and he leaped up to scale the wall of the inn, getting on the roof and running to secure the area from above if he had to. The figure had his hands clasped on two large weapons at his side, his cloak thrown over his shoulders in a fashion that covered his head and face. Only his His shoulders were heaving from running from these agile Gerudo women, for he looked quite large in contrast to his captors. 

“Shove off, I came ‘ere to talk to Urbosa.” His voice was deep, loud and snarky. 

“Only those with written royal permission can speak with Lady Urbosa!”

Link was in a shaky jog at this point as he got to his feet, his legs trembling a bit from trying to keep his balance on the rooftops. His breath was coming out in white wispy clouds from the cold night air as he made a wild dash to the scene of the crime. 

“Urbosa knows damn well who I am!” The man shouted, “Tell ‘er that Ganondorf Dragmire has a thing or two to say!” Ripping away his shroud, a young man with a complexion much like the Gerudo women before him stood, his eyes focused and narrowed. The guards all seemed to freeze in place, their faces showing a bit of confusion as they muttered to each other. However they didn’t stop pointing the sharp ends of their weapons at the unmasked man. With a gruff sigh, his jawline tenses and became firm with aggravation. He raised his hands upwards with a look of exasperation on his face. 

“Quit actin’ like I up and killed somebody! I’m just here to have a talk --” 

Suddenly a body flung itself onto the man with a loud “HYAH!” followed by another shout, and a kickup of sandy dust clouds. The guards became firm again, approaching with caution. As it became clear, the Gerudo saw Link had gotten Ganondorf in a position of arrest, gripping the man’s arm behind his back as he made a noise of pain. 

“Gods--!! Get off me! I put my hands up, what gives!?” 

It wasn’t until Ganondorf managed to turn his head out of the dirt, letting out a groan of discomfort before he met the blue eyes of his attacker. But the both of them became still in a second. Link didn’t say a word, but his mouth opened, almost as if he wanted to speak. What was this strange but familiar feeling? He had never met this man before, but at the same time, he could have sworn that he had known him for years. Something was...wrong. 

**Author's Note:**

> This has just been in my head for a looooong while. I also don't really write as much as I used to, so I guess I'm using GanonLink to get back into it. I hope you guys like this! I'll be continuing from time to time, hopefully getting to when the Calamity awakens. That's gonna be a rollercoaster.


End file.
